Beijing Olympics: Typhoon strikes equestrian venue in Hong Kong

Previous reports from Hong Kong may have emphasised the clarity of the air, the blueness of the skies and the friendliness of the English-speaking volunteers, by way of providing a contrast with smog-ridden and oppressive Beijing.

All change: After the bright skies Hong Kong has now been struck by a tropical typhoon.Photo: Reuters

Serves us right. The volunteers at the equestrian venue here remain as friendly and articulate as anyone could hope, but the climate has taken a spectacular turn for the worse.

Tropical Storm Kammuri hit Hong Kong in the early hours of this morning, and showed little sign of moving off in the evening, so any smugness about the climate relative to China's capital was swiftly and comprehensively washed away.

Kammuri is what is known hereabout as a typhoon; in American terms it would be a hurricane. Hong Kong has its own rating system for typhoons, expressed in terms of the warning signals raised in the harbour since ancient colonial times.

"People advised to stay at home," ran the caption scrolling across the bottom of the screen on all Hong Kong's television channels. "Temporary shelters open for public seeking refuge. Damage reported at Sha Tin equestrian facility; horses safe."

This last bit of information is obviously the most important as far as Hong Kong's contribution to the Olympics goes, but the only damage viewed by your correspondent at Sha Tin today was a bit of flapping canvas at the top of a grandstand and a toppled pot plant.

The horses were not only safe but trotting around outdoors during a lull in the storm. Kammuri is an inconvenience, to say the least: the airport and ferry ports were out of action, buses were not running and the stock exchange and law courts were closed, as were many shops.

But it was an inconvenience that the Olympic organisers had planned for. A lesser typhoon struck during the test event here last August, proving, among other things, that torrential rain does not significantly diminish the crowds for a dressage event. You either like dressage or you don't and getting soaked is not going to change your mind.

The storm interrupted the international jury's inspection of the eventing cross-country course at Beas River Golf Club, because it is difficult to assess the difficulty of a challenging jump when you cannot see your own hand in front of you for rain. But the sun, which will presumably return, will soon dry out the course and the organisers expect no significant disruption to the schedule because of the weather.

Not all the competitors are so unperturbed. All the British horses for all the Games disciplines are acclimatising here, but not all of their rivals have arrived. The storm has prevented airlines from flying in to Hong Kong and there are tales of showjumping horses from France, the United States and some Middle Eastern nations stranded at Schipol and Dubai airports en route.

They will no doubt be having a whale of a time on the duty-free oats but their riders will not be pleased by the disruption. Horses of Olympic standard demand very fine tuning and the difference between arriving early in the morning or late at night could make for potentially decisive changes in preparation.

Tropical Storm Kammuri is likely to have blown through long before competition gets under way here with the eventing dressage competition at dawn on Saturday, but the adverse weather has promoted a great team spirit among all the competitors and officials, who have been forced to spend long hours cooped up in hotels protected by storm shutters, exchanging gossip and weather forecasts.

The main equestrian venue at Sha Tin seems to have survived the worst that the typhoon could throw at it substantially intact, and once the sun comes out again all should be well.

If, on the other hand, the storm hangs around – or, as they have been known to do, performs a U-turn and comes back – Beijing may find that it suddenly has a smog-free alternative venue for the water-polo and synchronised swimming.